Unlike some chemicals which are added into to make the cigarettes more addictive, this one is put into the papers to make the smoke not smell like ass. How effective that aim is is wholly dependent upon one's tolerance for smoke.

A 1990 summary of studies by RJ Reynolds concluded that this chemical is mostly harmless in small doses, although it does admit that the average consumption exceeds the safety threshhold just a tad—albeit nomoreso than any other chemical additives in cigarettes. At most humans, will exhibit minor eye irritation from ethyl vanillin glucoside; no genetic toxicity was found. Each cigarrette's paper contains 270 µg of ethyl vanillin glucoside, or about (between 0.6% and 0.8% of the total paper's weight).